Going against party line, Hans backs Punjab govt’s move

Going against the party stand, singer-turned-politician and state Congress vice-president Hans Raj Hans on Wednesday hailed the Punjab government’s move to denotify the 5,376-acre land acquired for construction of the Sutlej-Yamuna Link (SYL) canal and return it to farmers free of cost.

Going against the party stand, singer-turned-politician and state Congress vice-president Hans Raj Hans on Wednesday hailed the Punjab government’s move to denotify the 5,376-acre land acquired for construction of the Sutlej-Yamuna Link (SYL) canal and return it to farmers free of cost.

“I am appreciating the government’s move by rising above party lines and all Punjabis should support the government over the issue,” he told HT.

Hans also said the resolution brought by chief minister Parkash Singh Badal to seek royalty for water from Rajasthan, Haryana and Delhi, which was passed by the Vidhan Sabha, was good step to save the state waters.

He said Punjab had no excess water that could be shared with other states. Rather it was already suffering from acute shortage of ground water, he added

Notably, before joining the Congress in February this year, Hans was an Akali leader and had also unsuccessfully contested on SAD ticket in the 2009 Lok Sabha polls from Jalandhar seat.